Computing networks can include multiple network devices including routers, switches, and hubs, computing devices such as servers, desktop PCs, laptops, workstations, and peripheral devices, e.g., printers, facsimile devices, and scanners, networked together across wired and/or wireless local and or wide area networks (LANs/WANs).
Devices that route to directly connected networks use Address Resolution Protocols (ARPs) to allow devices to acquire the physical address (e.g., Media Access Control (MAC) Address) of a network device when only the IP address is known. Network devices can cache ARP entries in an ARP table (e.g., an associated correlation between an IP Address and a MAC Address) to save the ARP information. ARP entries are saved to avoid repeated attempts to acquire the same ARP information each time an ARP entry is needed for routing. An ARP cache can have a particular size limiting how many ARP entries may be stored.